Cloth-folding machine.



J. W. GAUN T.

GLOTH FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED APB. 7, 1909.

WJTNESSES.- /NVENo/e.

JM@ BY A TTORNEYS J. W. GAUNT.

CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLIGATI'ON FILM) APR. 7, 1909.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

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ATTORNEYS.

UNHED STAT@ PAINT OF SOUTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH FIELD, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

JOHN w. GAUNT,

'ro HENRY CLOTH-FOLDING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Application filed April 7, 1909. Serial No. 488,512.

950,153. Specification of Letters Patent.

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a practical embodiment of my machine, showing the same as it would appear in active operation with the folding-blade at the back end of its stroke; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section through said machine, said foldingblade here being represented as at the forward end of its stroke; Fig. 3, a plan view of the machine free from cloth and without the cover for the folding-blade, one corner of the bed for the folding-blade being broken away to disclose to better advantage the rolls beneath, and, Fig. 4, an enlarged sectional detail of the yielding platform and associated members, the hold-back device being shown by dot-and-dash lines in its forward inactive position.

The arrows indicate the directions of mov- To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. GAUNT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at South Hadley, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Cloth-Folding Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of folding machines for cloth which are used in papering preparatory to pressing the cloth in the course of the manufacture of the same, and comprises in a general way a certain peculiar blade for folding purposes and appurtenances therefor, a special receptacle consisting in part of a yielding receiving platform for the folded cloth and interposed papers or press-boards, and suitable gripping and holding means for the folded cloth, together with such auxiliary and Subsidiary parts and members including cloth feeding mechanism and driving or actuating mechanism as may be needed to give effect to the new features and to so unite them as to produce a practical machine.

rlhe primary object of my invention is to facilitate and expedite the operation of papering cloth, by providing a comparatively simple yet durable, practicable, and efficient machine for folding the cloth over the papers or press-boards as fast as the latter are placed in position on said cloth.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, it is necessary during the manufacture of certain kinds of cloth such as that used for linings and for some grades of dressgoods to take such cloth from the roll and fold it by hand with a paper between every fold, or more commonly with the paper between every other fold but in direct contact with the right side of the cloth. This operation of folding and papering the cloth in the old way is long, tedious, and laborious, and requires considerable skill. lVith my machine the work of folding is all done automatically, only the actual work of papering, or of laying papers on the cloth as it is folded by the' machine, being done by hand. Thus it will be seen that said machine economizes labor as well as time.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain these objects by the mechanism ing parts.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Although the machine illustrated by the drawings and described in detail below em bodies a preferred form of my invention so far as my present experience goes, I do not desire to be limited to the precise construction, arrangement, and combination herein set forth, because obviously various changes in the shape, size, and minor details of construction of some or all of the parts may be made without departing from the nature of said invention or violating the spirit thereof. In this connection I wish especially to call attention to the fact that any suitable driving or actuating mechanism for the folding-blade and the cloth may be substituted for what is herein shown and described in detail.

In the drawings there appears a table 1 of suitable length and width and suitably supported above the floor. The top of the table projects on both sides over the supporting members of the table below, for reasons that will be explained presently. Rising from the table l is a support 2 and depending from said table under said support 2 is a support or hanger 3. Secured to the table in front of the support 2 is a block which forms a bed l for a foldingblade or folder 5. Forward of the bed 4 is a receptacle consisting-of a platform 6 yieldingly mounted on the table, a front piece 7 permanently aiiiXed to said table immediately in front of the front edge of said platform, and an end piece 8 having its bottom edge hinged at 9 9 to said table adjacent to one longitudinal edge thereof and normally held against one end of said platform by means of a spring 10 fastened at its base to the table and extending upward to bear on the outside of said end piece 8. The aforesaid receptacle thus re sembles a box from sides have been removedy and two' left. The adjacent vertical edges of the pieces 7 and 8, which latter stand at right-angles to each other, fall short of the intervening corner `of the platformV 6, as plainly shown at 11,

in Fig. 3, and so leave a space for the escape at this point of any air that might become penned up during the folding operation, if a tight or` closed corner to the receptacle were formed by uniting or joining such pieces. Ay series of rollers 12 is mounted above the table 1 between parallel bars 13-13 in which the trunnions of said rollers are journaled. lThe bars 13 are fastened to the table transversely thereof for-` ward of the front piece 7, so that the rollers 12 are parallel withthe longitudinal direction of said table. Asshown in Figs. 2 and 4, that portion ofthe table top which is under the platform 6 is depressed somewhat below surrounding portions of suchv top, but this-is-not a material feature of my invention and is resorted to merely because I am thus able to employ a thinner' or lower bed 4. The rollers 12 together constitute a movable support for the papers or pressboards 14 at the right-hand or front end ofthe table 1. The cloth-roll 15 is supported in the usual manner back of the lefthand or rear end of the table 1 by an ordinary standv 16. Two rotary brushes 17 are located between the cloth-roll 15 and the rear legs of the table 1, the trunnions of said brushes being journaled in brackets 18 18 which project backward from said rear legs. These brushes may or may not be arranged in the same horizontal plane, but should in any event be so positioned that the cloth 19 from the roll 15 can pass between them. The brushes 17 serve to remove any foreign matter that may be on the cloth in the roll before said cloth passes on to be folded. One or more suitably mounted guide rollers 20 may be provided for the cloth at the rear end of the table. The support 2 affords bearings for the shaft 21 upon which a large roller 22 is mounted. A smaller roller 23, of greater or less weight as may be required, bears on the upper front quadrant of the roller 22 where it is retained by two arms 24. The arms 24 have their upper ends pivoted at 25-25 to the uprights of the support 2, andthe shaft 26 of said roller 23`is journaled in the lower ends of said arms. These are theY actuating rollers which two adjoiningfor the cloth, as will presently appear. Tight on one end of the shaft 21 is a pulley 27, and tight on the other end of said shaft is a pulley 28. The hanger 3 affords bearings for a shaft 29. Tight on said shaft are three pulleys 30, 31 and 32, and two crank arms 33, the latter being at the ends of the shaft. A belt 34 connects the pulley with the pulley 27. A belt 35 connects the Ypulley 31 with a double pulley 36 attached to the adjacent trunnion of the front brush 17. A belt 37 connects the pulleyv 36 with a pulley 38y attached to the rear brush 17. By crossing the belt 37 between the pulleys 36 and 38 the brushes 17 are revolved in opposite directions, and this I prefer to do. rPhe pulley 28 in the present instance is the main driving pulley of the machine, and is in practice belted to a countershaft pulley (not shown), but the machine might just as well be driven from below by transferring the main driving to the shaft 29.

The folding-blade 5, which rests and is designed to reciprocate upon the bed 4, is flat, has three, more or less, indentations or recesses 39 in its front edge, and is fastened at its back end to a cross-bar 40 by means of a plurality of bolts 41 and nuts 42. Slots 43, corresponding in number to the bolts 41, are cut in the folding-blade 5 to receive said bolts and at the same time afford means of longitudinal adjustment for said blade. The bolts 41 pass upward through theslots 43 in the folder and through alining holes in the cross-bar 40 above to receive the nuts 42. Upon loosening the nuts 42, the folder can be moved forward or backward relative to the cross-bar, within the limits fixed by the slots 43, and so caused to make a longer or shorter stroke when said nuts are again tightened and said blade is set in motion. Grooves may be cut in the top of the bed 4 to accommodate the heads of the bolts 41, if necessary, one such groove being shown at 44, in Fig. 2.

Rigidly fastened to the ends of the crossbar 40 and to each other by two cross-rods 45 and mounted on a plurality of rolls 46 arranged to run along the overhanging edges of the table 1 hereinbefore mentioned, are two y plates or side-pieces 47, the several parts combining to form a carriage or cai'- rier for the folder. rl`wo ofthe rolls 46 are mounted on the cross-rods 45 justinside of each side piece 47, above the table top, and two of said rolls are mounted on the saine number of studs 48 whichextend inward from each side-piece, Linder said table top. A transverse channel 49 in the underside of the bed 4 leaves ample space fory the nntrammeled movement of the cross-rods 45 as the folder is reciprocated. Each sidepiece 47 is provided with a rigidextension 50 whichris connected'by` a connecting-rod pulley from the shaft 21 51 with the associated crank-arm 33. From the foregoing it will be plain that adequate rovision is made for reciprocating the folding-blade carrier and the blade itself from the shaft 29, the carrier moving freely back and forth with its side-pieces 47 against the edges of the table which are between the upper and under rolls 46 as said shaft with its crank arms 33 revolves and in revolving transmits a reciprocating motion to said carrier and blade through the medium of the connecting rods 51.

A cover 52, for the folding-blade 5 and the cross-bar 40, is mounted on the bed 4, each side of said cover being apertured at to accommodate the projecting ends of said cross-bar, and the front end of the cover being apertured to permit said blade to slide out and in, as'shown at 54, in Fig. 2. The top of the cover 52 is preferably inclined downward from back to front, and this top serves as a guide or support for the cloth 19 and as a table upon which said cloth can be cut into pieces The cover may be made long enough to rest on the table 1 and wide enough to inclose not only the bed 4, but those portions of the side-pieces 47 and other parts of the carrier for the foldingblade that are above the level of the top of said table as well.

Normally standing upright against the front ends of the bed 4 and the cover 52, in line with each notch or indentation 39 in the folder and with its base securely fastened to the table 1 or to the bed 4 or both, is a spring finger 55 rolled over at the upper terminal. These lingers 55 are of sufficient length to bear with their overturned upper ends on the platform 6 or the pile of cloth and papers thereon when said fingers are forced forward by the advancing foldingblade, and they also support said blade while traveling in either direction for a greater part of the way and so prevent it from dragging on the cloth. Besides acting to hold down the pile on the platform 6 at the back edge and to guide and support the foldingblade, the fingers 55 when they return to their vertical position take up any slack there may be in the cloth and maintain the cloth in readiness for the next forward movement of the blade.

The horizontal level of the platform 6 at the start and of the accumulating pile thereon should be approximately constant at all times and situated a little below the horizontal plane of the folding-blade 5 so as to enable said blade to pass over the top of said platform or said pile without meeting with obstruction other than the reach of cloth 19 being folded, and in order to bring about these conditions I mount the platform on springs 56, four being used in the present case, provide vertical screw -threaded rods 57 and nuts 58 thereon respectively to guide the platform and to limit its maximum upward movement, and furnish a resilient detent 59 and a serrated bar 60 to check the upward tendency of the platform after it begins to descend. The rods 57 have heads 61 which are fastened to the underside of the platform 6, and said rods pass through and operate in suitable openings in the table 1 below said platform. The springs 56 encircle the rods 57 between the heads 61 above and the table 1 below, and the nuts 58 are on said rods below said table. Normally the springs 56 lift the platform as far as the nuts 58 will permit, and by screwing said nuts up or down on the rods 57 the maximum height of said platform is decreased or increased accordingly, adjustment of this kind being required for different thicknesses of cloth and of paper' or press-boards,

The springs 56 are sufficiently delicate to yield under the accumulating weight on the platform 6 and so to allow the latter to sink beneath its load, the descent being commensurate with the thickness or height of such load so as to maintain the approximate constant level referred to in the preceding paragraph. The folder during its forward movenient and the fingers 55 during their downward movement may depress the platform a little. Any tendency to rebound which the platform might have while thus descending is prevented by the detent 59 and the bar 60. Said bar has its upper terminal secured to the underside of the table 1, and said detent has its upper terminal secured to the underV side of the platform 6. The detent 59 eX- tends through an opening 62 in the table7 and the lower hooked end of said detent bears against the serrated edge of the bar 60. As the detent is carried down with the platform the hook or tooth thereon clicks past the teeth on the bar, but the instant said platform starts to rise the detent tooth engages one of the bar teeth and prevents the platform from so doing. rlhe detent may be provided with a handle 63 for convenience in throwing said detent out of engagement by hand when it is desired to release the platform to the action of t-he springs 56 and permit it to resume its uppermost position.

Pivotally connected at 64 to the ends of the front piece 7 near the top are two arms 65 which carry between them, being rigidly attached thereto, a horizontal support 66 for a plurality of gravity hold-backs 67, the latter being loosely suspended from a rod 68 attached to said support There are three hold-backs in this case because there arc three indentations 39 in the folder, and like the fingers 55 said hold-backs are in line with said indentations. The support 66 with the hold-backs can be thrown over against the front face of the front piece '7,

as indicated by dot-and-dash lines, in Fig. l. which is the inoperative position, or said support can be thrown rearward into operative position with said hold-backs at a downward and forward inclination and resting on the platform 6 or on the material thereon. lhen this device is in operative position the arms 65 rest on lugs 69 at the ends of the front piece 7. The oflice of the hold-backs is to hold down the folded cloth, on the platform, at its front edge and prevent the cloth from following the folder on its return stroke, and for many grades of goods such hold-backs are capableof satisfactorily performing such ofice. In practice the folding-blade in advancing thrusts the cloth beneath the hold-backs without itself entering beneath them owing to thc presence of the indentations 39, then when said blade is retracted it leaves the new fold undisturbed in the grasp as it were of said hold-backs.

For heavy goods I have provided what are herein termed arresters to take the place of the hold-backs 69. These arresters 70 are merely vertically reciprocating or cam-operated gravity rods mounted to move up and down in the table 1 and between the front piece 7 and the platform 6, and bent over said platform to grip the cloth when such rods descend. The arresters correspond in number to the hold-backs and. are in line with the indentations 39, and their action is similar to that of said hold-backs excepting that the arresters are elevated by means of three cams 71 tight on a shaft 72 suitably liournaled between the table 1. There is a pulley 73 also tight on the shaft 72, and by belting this pulley to the pulley 32 on the shaft 29 the cams which operate the arresters can be driven. A belt between the two last-mentioned pulleys is indicated by dot-and-dash lines 74, in Fig. 1. lVhen in operation the arresters ride on the cams 71 for a part of the time at least, and said cams are so timed as to elevate said arresters and raise the horizontal port-ions thereof above the cloth as the folding-blade is on the point of making a new fold, and to permit the arresters to descend again with such horizontal portions on the cloth the instant said blade starts to return. The arresters never bear on the folder itself, any more than do the hold-backs, owing to the indentations in said blade. The shape of the cams is such as to allow th-e arresters to .descend until their weight comes on the folded cloth and the papers and to remain in this position as long as is necessary, but v hen the high parts of the cams roll under the arresters they are raised out of engagement with the pile on the platform for the length of time needed to enable the folder to make the fold. The arresters and the hold-backs are so located that they do not conflict with each other, and when the fori mer are in use the latter are thrown over out of the way.

By preference the hold-backs 67 and the horizontal portions of the arresters 70 are inclosed in rubber or other material that will afford a good hold or grip on the cloth and prevent it from being dragged backward by the Cotter-blade.

The operation of the machine as a whole is described as follows: First, the cloth 19 is led from the bottom of the roll 15 under the lower guide roll 20, upward between the brushes 17 and over the upper guide roll 20, forward over the feed roller 22 and under the tension roller 23, downward behind thebed 4 and the cover 52 where enough slack is left to obviate appreciable drag or pull on the folder 5 when advancing, such slack being represented at 75, forward over said cover and the tops of the fingers 55, and across the space between said bed and cover and the platform 6 on to said platform or on to one or more papers 14 which have been placed thereon. The platform 6 is in the high position shown in Fig. 4 at the time the end of the cloth is brought over the platform. A paper 14 is nextplaced on that portion of the cloth 19 that lies on the platform and butted against the members 7 and 8, and the support 66 is swung over to bring the hold-backs 67 on the last paper, assuming that the hold-backs are to be used. Now the machine is set in motion with the result that at each cycle the folding-blade is advanced and retracted, folding the cloth at each forward stroke, while the roller 22 aided by the roller 23 is drawing the cloth from the cloth-roll and feeding it to the folding mechanism fast enough to insure the maintenance of slack at the point 75. Upon the advance of the folding-blade, after the mechanism has been started, the front edge of said blade first encounters the short, downwardly and forwardly inclined reach of cloth between the front edge of the cover 52 and the rear edge of the aforesaid last paper, and the inner edges of the indentations 89 encounter the resilient fingers 55, and then the blade forces said fingers over on to the adjacent edge of said paper and rides over them carrying with it the cloth, which is thus folded over the rear edge of said paper, and forces said cloth under the hold-backs 67. Upon the backwardor return stroke of the foldingblade said blade leaves the cloth folded upon itself at or adjacent to the front piece 7, and releasesA the fingers 55 so that they rise in front of the blade and assume their normal position once more. While the foldingblade is traveling back another paper 14 is taken from the pile on the rollers 12 and placed on the cloth 19, within the side and end pieces 7 and 8, and the next forward thrust of the blade lays the double fold on this paper as it did on the preceding one. Thus the operation continues until the piece is all folded and papered, when the machine is stopped, the support 66 is turned over forward, and said piece is removed over the end piece 8 which .is swung down against the resiliency of the spring l0 for that purpose. Piece after piece is quickly folded. and papered in this way until the cloth-roll l5 becomes exhausted, then a fresh cloth-roll is placed in position and the operation continued. rPhe operation is substantially the same, as will be readily understood, when the arresters 70 are employed instead of the hold-backs 67. In belting up for the arresters care must be taken, of course, to set the cams 7l so that they will cause the arresters to coact in the proper manner with the folder. The platform 6 descends under the increasing weight of the cloth and paper thereon until its upper surface is on a level with or possibly a trifle above the upper surface of the end piece 8 when said piece is turned down. When two or more pressings are required the piece is taken from the press and placed in the table l behind the feed rollers 22 and 23, the cloth is arranged in the machine as before excepting` that it is so placed as to produce new folds and creases, and then it is run through the machine and fresh papers are introduced in exactly the same manner as has been hereinbefore fully explained, the old papers dropping out behind the roller 22 as the cloth is fed forward. This refolding and repapering is repeated if necessary and as many times as is necessary. Obviously a large saving in time, labor and expense is thus achieved.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a table, cloth-actuating mechanism and a cloth-receiving platform supported by such table, a bed on the table between said mechanism and said platform, and a cover over such bed, of a folder mounted to reciprocate on said bed under said cover, the latter serving as a guide or support for the cloth in its passage through the machine, and means to reciprocate said folder.

2. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a table, and a bed on such table and narrower than the same, of a folder mounted to reciprocate on said bed, a carriage or carrier, for said folder, comprising connected side-pieces mounted on members arranged and adapted to engage from both above and below and to travel along the edges of said table outside of said bed, and means to reciprocate such carriage or carrier.

3. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, of a reciprocating folding-blade,

means to reciprocate such blade, one or more fingers positioned in the path of travel of said blade and arranged to be turned down thereby to aord a support therefor and gripping means for the cloth.

t. The combination, in a cloth-fold.ingma chine, with a reciprocating folding-blade, and means to reciprocate such blade, of one or more yielding fingers positioned in the path of travel of such blade and adapted to be turned down thereby and to afford a support therefor and at the same time to serve as holding means for the folded cloth.

5. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a table, of cloth-actuating mechanism and a yielding platform supported by such table, said platform being for the folded cloth and the papers or press-boards, a bed on the table between said mechanism and said platform, a folding-blade mounted to reciprocate on said bed and in its reciprocating motion to project its forward portion over said platform, means to reciprocate said blade, and means to lock the platform against upward movement at successive points in its descent.

6. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a table, and a serrated member depending therefrom, of a platform provided with guide members which pass downward through such table and have means on their lower terminals to limit the maximum upward movement of such platform, springs arranged to support said platform from said table, and a detent depending from the platform and arranged to engage said serrated member to prevent the platform from rising without interfering with the descent of the platform.

7. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a table, a substantially horizontal folding-blade, and a reciprocating carrier mounted on said table and engaging the rear portion of said blade, such carrier being adapted to actuate the blade in a substantially horizontal plane, of a depressible platform on said table in front of said carrier and below the path of travel of said blade, and means of control for said platform whereby its load is maintained at an approximately constant level.

8. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a folding-blade, and means to reciprocate the same, of a cloth-receiving platform below the path of travel of said blade, means normally standing in the path of the blade and adapted to be turned down by the latter when it advances to hold at the back edge. the folded cloth on said platform, and gravity means to hold at the front edge the folded cloth on said platform, to prevent the cloth from being displaced by said folding-blade in its forward and backward movement.

9. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a folding-blade, means to reciprocate such blade, and a cloth-receiving platform below the path of travel of such blade, of a suitable support over the front portion of said platform, and one or more gravity cloth-holding members pivotally connected with said support and loosely depending therefrom, with a forward inclination from above downward, and bearing on the platform or its load adjacent to the frontedge thereof.

10. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, with a folding-blade, means to reciprocate such `blade, a cloth-receiving platform below the path of travel of such blade, and an upright member in front of such platform, of a support pivotally connected with said upright member and adapted to be positioned above the front portion of said platform or to be thrown forward from such position, and one or more gravity clothholding members pivotally connected with said support and loosely depending therefrom, with a forward inclination from above downward, and bearing on the platform or its load adjacent to the front edge thereof, when the support is in its first-mentioned position.

11. The combination, in a cloth-folding indentation or indentations machine, with a reciprocating folding-blade having one or more indentations in its front edge, means to reciprocate such blade, and a cloth-receiving platform below the path of travel of such blade, of one or more gravity holding members for t-he cloth folded by said blade on said platform, such holding member or members being in line with said for the purpose of enabling the folding-blade to make its full forward stroke without directly contacting with the holding member or members.

l2. The combination, in a cloth-folding machine, of a table, a yielding cloth-receiving platform supported by such table, a transversely-arranged series of rollers supported adjacent to such platform, such rollers forming a movable support for papers or press-boards, and a stationary vertical member between the front edge of said platform and the adjacent ends of said rollers to separate the papers or press-boards and the folded cloth on the platform from the papers or press-boards on the rollers.

JOHN lV. GAUN T. Witnesses:

HENRY FIELD,

F. A. CUTTER. 

